Photos 1 – 4) Fresh produce from he Green Cow Organic Farm (Beijing); 5) Will the real amaranth please reveal itself.
I recently joined the Green Cow Organic Vegetable Club in Beijing. While I knew I would enjoy the weekly arrival of fresh produce, I did not anticipate just how much this regular infusion of lovely, fragrant GREEN would improve my psyche. We are now well into a month of receiving our weekly bounty, and my mood lightens with each delivery. Trips to the grocery store, which in the past elicited resigned sighs, now conclude without a single furrowed brow.
While Beijing certainly has vegetable markets, the best I’ve seen (Sanyuanli) is reachable only by car from where I live. Last year, we trekked out to several of the area’s farms and picked our own fresh produce, which was a joy, but in the long run unsustainable as the outing took the greater part of a weekend day. The grocery store closest to our house offers the same limited number of tired-looking fruit and vegetables, day after day, week after week. Of the fruit, at least 25% is discarded due to rot found only when peeled.
We visited the Green Cow farm last October for its annual Harvest Festival. It’s located in Donggezhuang village about 45 minutes from downtown Beijing. The application to join its vegetable club informs potential members that the farm has four greenhouses, which grow fresh vegetables year-round, as well as an additional 80 acres for growing peanuts, corn, cotton, soybeans and trees. The owner pledges not to use sludge, chemical fertilizers, pesticides or herbicides and has goals are to practice sustainable agriculture and grow food that is safe for families, the environment, and its farmers.
This summer, while in Seattle, one of my greatest pleasures was visiting our local grocery. Whenever someone mentioned a missing food item, I immediately volunteered to go to the store and procure whatever was needed. I welcomed the opportunity to take in the fresh blueberries, raspberries, peaches and other fruit – as well as the wonderful seafood displays. I filled my lungs with smells of sun-ripened fruit, and our annual berry picking (and subsequent jam making) had never been more enjoyable.
The Green Cow has made me appreciate fresh vegetables like never before. The farm offers its produce to only 20 families a year, and it can be difficult to get a spot. Last year, when I inquired in September, I was told it was too late. This year, I approached the owner in June and was able to join this sought after vegetable club. A year’s subscription is RMB 16,000 (approximately US$2,300 a year or US$190 a month), not cheap but worth every cent.
Because many of the greens are often new to the western palate, recipes come via email in anticipation of each delivery. Of course, one week’s guidance on how to prepare edible amaranth left me scratching my head as I tried to figure out which of the many varieties of Chinese greens was “amaranth.” But the helpful links included ( http://www.ediblephoenix.com/content/pages/articles/year2007/spring07/pdfs/amaranth.pdf and http://www.clovegarden.com/ingred/ch_amaranth.html) provided the necessary clues.
The farm is the brain child of Lejen Chen, a Chinese American, who also runs a popular eatery in town, Mrs. Shanen’s. For more information about The Green Cow, you may contact [email protected].
Enjoy other tales of food here: http://wanderlustandlipstick.com/blogs/wanderfood/